The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

Delayed in London, Ted Severson meets a woman at the airport bar. 

Over cocktails they tell each other rather more than they should, and a dark plan is hatched - but are either of them being serious, could they actually go through with it and, if they did, what would be their chances of getting away with it?

Back in Boston, Ted's wife Miranda is busy site managing the construction of their dream home, a beautiful house out on the Maine coastline. 

But what secrets is she carrying and to what lengths might she go to protect the vision she has of her deserved future?

The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson is published in hardback by Faber & Faber on 5 February 2015.


Ted Severson; hugely successful businessman, so rich he really doesn't have to work any more, married to a beautiful woman and delayed in the first-class departure lounge at Heathrow.
Lily Kintner; mysterious, eloquent and interesting, and also delayed by the same flight.

Ted and Lily drink down a couple of gin martinis. Ted reveals more than he intended, and Lily encourages him. By the time they board their flight to the US, they've decided that Ted's unfaithful wife Miranda will be murdered.

That's as much as I'm going to say about the plot. The story is deep, multi-layered and so incredibly well written that I was absolutely consumed by the story. Peter Swanson's writing is stunning, he has created a cast of characters who are cruel, obnoxious, evil and so incredibly clever, you may hate them, but you will be so connected to them, and their individual stories, that you just can't look away - believe me!

Be prepared for a story that has more twists than a theme-park roller coaster, with some screeching hand-brake turns that will leave you wondering what the hell just happened. The author structures this novel so very well, with alternative viewpoints from Ted and Lily, this enables the reader to have a little more information than either of these two characters, but with some unpredictable shocks thrown in.

The Kind Worth Killing is a study of the human psyche, it is also psychologically challenging and also an excellent thriller. Character development is excellent and the pace of the story is perfect.

There are liars and cheats, deceptions and illusions. Thrills, gasps and characters who range from downright evil to the most gullible.

This is a first class thriller; intelligent, surprising and incredibly moreish.

My thanks to Sophie from the publisher Faber & Faber who sent my copy for review.

Peter Swanson's debut novel, The Girl With a Clock for a Heart (2014), was described by Dennis Lehane as 'a twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride' and in the Observer as 'very hard not to read in one sitting'. 

He lives with his wife and cat in Somerville, Massachusetts.

For more information, visit his website www.peter-swanson.com

Follow him on Twitter @PeterSwanson3